CLINTON COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES LILLY ENDOWMENT COMMUNITY SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

March 29, 2012 -- One Clinton County student has been named a recipient of a four-year, full-tuition scholarship as the Clinton County Community Foundation 2012 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.

Chaz Evans, son of Chad Evans and stepson of Leslie Evans, will receive full tuition to the Indiana college of his choice and up to $900 per year for required books and equipment.

Chaz, a Clinton Central High School student, is an active member in the Future Farmers of America (FFA), where he is the chapter president, District V officer and a member of eight State Champion Teams. He is president of the 4-H Club, Student Council and the 2012 senior class. Chaz has been a member of the Foreign Language Club for three years and Junior Leaders for four years, where he was vice president for two years.

As a member of FFA, he has earned many awards that include Tenth Individual at National Ag Sales, First Team at State Meats Evaluation, Third Team at National Western Meats Contest, Travis Stowers Memorial Award, First Team at State Skill-a-Thon, Most Involved Member, Star Greenhand, Gibby Hendricks Member Award, Hoosier and Chapter Degrees, First at State Natural Resource Demonstration and First at District Extemporaneous Public Speaking.

In his essay, Chaz credits his success in FFA to setting specific goals, reaching them and then exceeding his goals. He plans to attend Purdue University to study agricultural engineering.

This is the 15th year that the Lilly Endowment has funded the Community Scholars program. The Clinton County Community Foundation defined the criteria based on the endowment’s goal to "raise the educational attainment in Indiana." The selection criteria identified by the Foundation included scholastic achievements; school, community and work activities; essay; financial need; and an interview. There were 25 Clinton County students who applied for the scholarship. A committee of volunteers evaluated the applications and selected five finalists who were interviewed by the Clinton County Community Foundation board and Scholarship Committee.

The finalists' names were submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) for the selection of recipients. ICI is a nonprofit corporation that represents 31 regionally accredited degree granting, nonprofit, private colleges and universities in the state.

The Foundation recognized the achievements of the four finalists with $1,000 renewable scholarships for a total of $4,000. They include Carrie Funk from Clinton Prairie High School, daughter of Mark and Faye Funk; Kaitlyn Jameson from Frankfort High School, daughter of Thomas and Cynthia Jameson; Chloe McLaughlin from Frankfort High School, daughter of Kenneth and Rhonda McLaughlin; and Kaylen White from Clinton Prairie High School, daughter of Daniel and Dayna White.

"This was an impressive group of students," said John Shoup, chairman of the Clinton County Community Foundation Services Committee. "This scholarship recognizes that a great portion of Indiana's future is dependent on retaining educated citizens. After interviewing the finalists, it's clear that our students are up to the challenge. It's a great program and the Foundation is pleased to be a part of it."

The Clinton County Community Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable organization created in 1996. The mission of the Foundation is to improve the quality of life of the community through the accumulation and stewardship of enduring charitable gifts. For details about making a charitable gift or establishing a permanent endowment fund to benefit a charitable organization or interest in Clinton County, please contact the Community Foundation at (800) 964-0508 or visit the Web site at www.cfclinton.org.